Professor Ioannis "John" Kymissis Selected to Participate in the 2020-2021 Class of the Defense Science Study Group

The Defense Science Study Group (DSSG), a program of education and study that introduces outstanding science and engineering professors to the United States’ security challenges has selected John Kymissis, Electrical Engineering Professor at Columbia University to participate in the 2020-2021 class of the Defense Science Study Group.

Prof. Kymissis's research focuses on the fabrication, characterization, and applications of thin film electronics, with a particular focus in the applications of organic semiconductors, thin film piezoelectrics, and recrystallized silicon devices. In addition to his teaching and research work, he is also active in a number of professional societies and currently serves as the secretary of the Society for Information Display.

“This is a terrific opportunity to learn more about our defense and intelligence needs and infrastructure and to incorporate this knowledge into my research work,” says Kymissis. “I’m both excited and honored to have been selected for this cohort of the program.”

The study group is a highly exclusive group to be a part of with just 19 participants fielded from a group of over 150 qualified scientists and engineers. The group meets 20 days per year, for two years with a focus on defense policy, related research and development, and the systems, missions, and operations of the armed forces and the intelligence community. Once the program concludes, participants present their “think pieces” and are briefed by representatives of Government study boards, including the Defense Science Board, the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, the Army Science Board, the Naval Studies Boards, JASON, and the information Science and Technology Panel.

DSSG was founded in 1986 and is run by the non-profit Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) and is sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Full list of members selected to participate in the 2020-2021 class of the Defense Science Study Group:

1. Craig J. Bryan - The University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Department of Psychiatry
2. Neal K. Devaraj - University of California, San Diego, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
3. William R. Dichtel - Northwestern University, Department of Chemistry
4. Jason W. Fleischer - Princeton University, Department of Electrical Engineering
5. Neil K. Garg - University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
6. Marla C. Geha - Yale University, Department of Astronomy
7. Elodie Ghedin - New York University, Department of Biology
8. Patrick E. Hopkins - University of Virginia, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
9. Prashant K. Jain - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Chemistry
10. Sangbae Kim - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering
11. Ioannis "John" Kymissis - Columbia University, Department of Electrical Engineering
12. Benjamin L. Lev - Stanford University, Departments of Physics and Applied Physics
13. Yueh-Lin (Lynn) Loo - Princeton University, The Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering
14. Lane W. Martin - University of California, Berkeley, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
15. Meeko Oishi - University of New Mexico, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
16. William Robertson - Northeastern University, College of Computer and Information Science
17. Maria Spiropulu - California Institute of Technology, Division of Physics Mathematics & Astronomy
18. Andrea R. Tao - University of California, San Diego, Department of Nanoengineering
19. Krista S. Walton - Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering